Prof. James A. LandayUniversity of Washington

Autumn 2008

Low-fi Prototyping

November 4, 2008

CSE440 - Autumn 2008 User Interface Design, Prototyping, and Evaluation 2

Interface Hall of Shame or Fame?

• Amtrak Web Site

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Interface Hall of Fame/Shame!

• Amtrak Web Site• Good

– tells you what’s wrong– gets your attention

• Bad– doesn't label where to fix – tells you that you made

an error, because you didn’t know their codes

Prof. James A. LandayUniversity of Washington

Autumn 2008

Low-fi Prototyping

November 4, 2008

CSE440 - Autumn 2008 User Interface Design, Prototyping, and Evaluation 5

Outline

• Review midterm course survey

• Low-fi prototyping

• Wizard of Oz technique

• Informal UI prototyping tools

• Go over Low-fi assignment (#6)

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Midterm Course SurveyThings you like!

• Teaching with examples

• Slides & other materials online

• Interactive lectures– especially on candy days

• Project work focuses on lecture material

• Readings tied to lectures

Midterm Course SurveyAreas to Improve

• In class workshop with early feedback & help– we have one this Thursday, one after the midterm, and one at

the end of course, but it sound like in the future I should have another one earlier (after ESM/TA?)

• Better communication about non-graded parts of course– e.g., web site. Usually in final presentation grade. We will create

a web site grading FAQ and present this earlier in course next time

• Emphasize and define key points, terms, concepts earlier– too late now, but can I get examples for future?

• Pre-work/troubleshoot technical aspects before course– we did pre-work phone/ESM, but it IS research software. Prefer

avoiding?• Clarify grading criteria

– Try to pretty explicit on each assignment. Examples would help me know where you need more. Remember, there is not a “right” or “best” answer as in a math or programming course.

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Fidelity in Prototyping

• Fidelity refers to the level of detail

• High fidelity?– prototypes look like

the final product

• Low fidelity?– artists renditions

with many details missing

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Why Use Low-fi Prototypes?

• Traditional methods take too long– sketches prototype evaluate iterate

• Can instead simulate the prototype– sketches evaluate iterate– sketches act as prototypes• designer “plays computer”• other design team members observe & record

• Kindergarten implementation skills– allows non-programmers to participate

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Hi-fi Prototypes Warp

• Perceptions of the tester/reviewer– representation communicates “finished”• comments focus on color, fonts, & alignment

• Time– encourage precision• specifying details takes more time

• Creativity– lose track of the big picture

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The Basic Materials

• Large, heavy, white paper (11 x 17)

• 5x8 in. index cards

• Post-its

• Tape, stick glue, correction tape

• Pens & markers (many colors & sizes)

• Overhead transparencies

• Scissors, X-acto knives, etc.

from “Prototyping for Tiny Fingers” by Rettig 12CSE440 - Autumn 2008 User Interface Design, Prototyping, and Evaluation

CSE440 - Autumn 2008 13User Interface Design, Prototyping, and Evaluation

ESPCSE440 - Autumn 2008 14User Interface Design, Prototyping, and Evaluation

April 24, 2008 15CSE 490 L - Spring 2008

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Constructing the Model

• Set a deadline– don’t think too long - build it!

• Draw a window frame on large paper• Put different screen regions on cards– anything that moves, changes,

appears/disappears

• Ready response for any user action– e.g., have those pull-down menus already made

• Use photocopier to make many versions

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Constructing the Model

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Constructing the Model

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Constructing the Model

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Constructing the Model

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Constructing the Model

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Preparing for a Test

• Select your “customers”– understand background of intended users– use a questionnaire to get the people you need– don’t use friends or family

• I think existing “customers” are OK (Rettig disagrees)

• Prepare scenarios that are– typical of the product during actual use– make prototype support these (small, yet broad)

• Practice to avoid “bugs”

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Conducting a Test

• Four testers (minimum)– greeter – puts users at ease & gets data– facilitator – only team member who speaks

• gives instructions & encourages thoughts, opinions

– computer – knows application logic & controls it• always simulates the response, w/o explanation

– observers – take notes & recommendations

• Typical session is 1 hour– preparation, the test, debriefing

• Read the Gommol paper (1 page) for details on conducting a test

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Conducting a Test

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Evaluating Results

• Sort & prioritize observations– what was important?– lots of problems in the same area?

• Create a written report on findings– gives agenda for meeting on design

changes

• Make changes & iterate

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Advantages of Low-fi Prototyping

• Takes only a few hours– no expensive equipment needed

• Can test multiple alternatives – fast iterations• number of iterations is tied to final quality

• Almost all interaction can be faked

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Wizard of Oz Technique

• Faking the interaction. Comes from?– the film “The Wizard of OZ”• “the man behind the curtain”

• Long tradition in computer industry– e.g., prototype of a PC w/ a VAX behind

the curtain

• Much more important for hard to implement features– speech & handwriting recognition

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Problems with Low-fi Prototypes

• “Computer” inherently buggy• Slow compared to real app

– timings not accurate

• Hard to implement some functionality– pulldowns, feedback, drag, viz …

• Won’t look like final product– sometimes hard to recognize

widgets

• End-users can’t use by themselves– not in context of user’s work

environment

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Informal UI Prototyping Tools

• Support advantages of low-fi paper prototypes– brainstorming

• consider different ideas rapidly• do not require specification of details

– incomplete designs• need not cover all cases, just illustrate important

examples

• Add advantages of electronic tools– evolve easily– support for “design memory”– transition to other electronic tools– allow end-user interaction

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Summary

• Low-fi testing allows us to quickly iterate– get feedback from users & change right away

• Informal prototyping tools bridge the gap between paper & high-fi tools

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Further ReadingPrototyping

• Books– Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine

User Interfaces, by Carolyn Snyder, Morgan Kaufmann, 2003

• Articles– “Prototyping for Tiny Fingers” by Marc Rettig, in

Communications of the ACM, 1994 – “Using Paper Prototypes to Manage Risk” by Carolyn Snyder,

http://world.std.com/~uieweb/paper.htm– “The Perils of Prototyping” by Alan Cooper,

http://www.chi-sa.org.za/Documents/articles/perils.htm

• Web Sites– dub Group web site, for DENIM & SUEDE downloads,

http://dub.washington.edu – InfoDesign Toolkit, http://www.infodesign.com.au

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Lo-fi Prototyping Assignment• Due: Thur. 11/13• Presentation by new team member• Get industry mentor involved– you are not required to do everything they

say, simply to give you a resource

• Make sure to use new participants• Two good reports from CSE 440, Au07–What’s Happening– TripMe

• Questions?

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Next Time

• In class work on project

• Come to class and I will move around between the teams giving feedback